At Least I Found a Friend in Hell
by burnskd
Summary: Everything comes with a price. A life for a life. No one has learned this lesson more harshly than Regina. For her, her visit to Hell will never end. Not with Robin gone and Hook in his place. She will have to carry it with her; make it one more item to add to her baggage claim. But maybe there's something she can say to make her load look a little less intimidating to her friends.


"We're going to run out of wine, love." Killian nodded to the near-empty bottle on the coffee table before staring into the bottom of his glass. Emma nestled closer to his shoulder and drank down her last swallow, twirling the stem of her glass carelessly.

"There's always a good bottle of rum around somewhere," she replied as she looked around her parents' apartment, thankful that Granny's was the popular spot tonight.

"Oh, now there's a good idea," Killian retorted through his notorious smirk. Emma took a second to relish in just how much she had missed his smile, and when she placed a kiss on his cheek, she ran her thumb over his raised eyebrows. This elicited a chuckle from him that sent her floating.

"I think I am gonna get in the shower first," she whispered with a wink.

"Oh, now there's a better idea." He twitched to get up with her, but her hand on his chest and a sudden knock on the door caused him to fall back in disappointment. He expected Emma to open the door for the visitor, so he gave her a questioning look when she just stood there with her brow lowered. Silently, she gave him a smirk and just pointed to the door with a slender finger before turning and leaving for the bathroom. When she was out of sight and Killian could no longer watch her leave, he threw his head back in resentment at whoever felt it necessary to interrupt his perfect date. (After returning from the underworld, he considered any time he got to spend with his lass a perfect time. So he felt no regret that he was taking his time to allow an uninvited third party to participate.)

He tossed a stray pillow to the end of the couch and heaved himself to his feet, his boots making heavy footfalls on the wooden floor. He wanted to do everything possible to let the guest know that they weren't wanted. _Maybe they had gone away_ , he thought. This idea made him stop in the middle of the room and turn to chase after his Swan instead. His smirk returned at this thought, but his legs, aching to move to her, just flinched instead when a second forceful knock summoned him to the door. His feet shuffled and his eyes rolled, but he did eventually open the door.

His jaw set and his eyes softened. In the past, having her show up at his door unannounced was almost always cause for trouble, but now he couldn't help but look at her with regret.

"Regina." He spoke softly and lowered his head as an invitation to enter, but he straightened when she refused.

"No, it's fine… I know I am probably interrupting your reunion," she conceded as she nodded towards the empty glasses.

His eyes searched her form that seemed to cower in on itself. He smiled as he turned toward the glasses and back, placing his good hand in his pocket. "Yes, well… quite a reunion." He expected a silence, so her quiet laugh gave him pause. She couldn't help but agree.

After several awkward seconds, Killian broke the silence. "Look, Regina, if you're here to see Emma, she's just in there. I can—"

"Oh no need, Captain," she interrupted. "I actually came to talk to you."

Recalling the events of the past days, Hook was stunned that she would want to talk to him of all people. Who knew what the former Evil Queen was capable of when she had nothing to lose anymore? Out of experience and instinct, he responded harshly. Maybe too harshly. He could tell by her gaze that he was inappropriate and braced for whatever he was about to receive in response from Regina. Regina tried her best to let it roll off of her.

"Are you done?" Killian felt worse when she responded like that.

"Aye."

"Good." Regina wasn't sure how to say what she was trying to get across. Her relationship with Hook had never extended past the professional, so she really couldn't blame him for assuming that she was after revenge for Robin. Her hands fidgeted nervously. "Look, I know what you must think I am here for, but I promise… I'm not. Those days are behind me." She watched his shoulders settle in the doorway, so she continued.

"I have dealt with magic, miracles, and fate for long enough to know that everything comes with a price. A sword for a spell, and eye for an eye… a life for a life." She stopped as his eyebrows lowered. He knew she was here to discuss Robin's death and his own miraculous return to the living.

"Hey, I had no idea that Zeus sending me back meant—"

"Killian, please!" Her use of his first name shocked both of them. It seemed to hang in the air, straddling the threshold of the doorway. "Of course you didn't know. Nobody knew! Zeus didn't even know. That's what I am saying. In our world, we deal with powers greater than anyone; those powers seem to govern themselves with certain rules," she looked at the ground and back up, lowering her voice, "whether we like it or not."

"So what are you saying," he asked hesitantly.

"I… don't know exactly. I just felt responsible—like everyone is waiting for me to say something." She paused. "But what I do know is that Emma is my friend. She stood by me when no one else did. When she turned dark to save me, she entrusted me with her freedom. And even after I abused it, not once did she question me. The Savior saved me." The look on Killian's face said that he knew what that felt like. The Savior had saved him, too. "Killian, losing you almost broke her. You were the one thing that kept her in the light in Camelot."

"I am the reason she cursed us all." Killian was careful not to speak too loudly.

"But you fixed it. Who was going to save her if not you?"

Tears started forming in her eyes. "That night, Robin Hood got to save me too. He sacrificed himself for my future. And if "a life for a life" means that the Savior, that my friend, was going to get you back, then Robin didn't just save one life. He got to save three."

Killian nodded in agreement. He was starting to understand what Regina was wanting to say until she spoke again.

"But that's not enough for me." A single tear slipped down her face. "It would have been enough for him, but it's not enough for me."

"What do you mean?" His instincts perked as he feared that all of those dismal words were a disguise for true revenge.

Another tear fell as she croaked, "I don't want to look at you and Emma and see myself and Robin."

Killian leaned into the door frame. "Aye, love."

"What will be enough for me is if you live… and love… like you belong here, not like you traded your life for a dead man's. Because if I look at you and see someone not quite fulfilling the space that Robin could have had, I will start to hate again—start to hate Emma again." More tears fell, and Killian felt confused when his instincts told him this time to reach for her. He stopped when she smiled. "I can't believe I am saying this, but I am asking you Killian, as a friend: don't be afraid of me, don't blame yourself, and please don't blame Emma."

"And that'll be enough for you?" His voice was hesitant but convinced.

"I really hope so, Hook." She looked down and turned on her heels to leave. "I really, really hope so."

Just as Killian was closing the door, he stopped and gave her pause. "Regina, wait." She stopped and turned but said nothing. Killian stumbled over his words. He guessed he felt responsible, too. "Just… don't be afraid of us either."

She smiled and nodded curtly before backing out of the hallway.

As Killian closed the door he heard the sound of his Swan shuffling behind him. "Who was it," she asked absentmindedly.

"Ahhhh Henry," he lied. "He was wanting some money for hot cocoa with Violet. He knocked so as not to disturb us." He said all of this as he turned from the door and looked to Emma. His eyes widened cunningly at the sight and she smirked knowingly. "Smart lad, too," he added. She stood in the living room still in her towel, slight goosebumps from a chill on her wet hair, holding a half empty glass bottle.

"I found the rum." She held the bottle up with one hand and her towel up with the other.

Regina's request was nipping at his mind, urging him forward, and he was more than willing to oblige her. But perhaps the thought of her and Robin propelled him toward Emma just a little harder, with a little more urgency, and with a little more desire. "Good form, Swan."

The floor boards echoed as he stepped off, practically racing to meet her again.


End file.
